Celebrating 10 Years of Destination Chesterfield

As we enter the final quarter of 2020 I, like many of you I suspect, am feeling shell-shocked at the issues this year has (so far) thrown at us all.

Despite everything, it is tremendously encouraging to see how businesses have adapted in the face of adversity. This isn’t the first time that Chesterfield has faced challenges and it certainly won’t be the last, but it’s how you tackle the situation that counts.

This month, 10 years ago, when Britain was in the grip of a recession, Destination Chesterfield was established.

While other towns and cities battened down the hatches and rode out the financial crisis, Chesterfield didn’t. The town put itself out there and declared itself a destination that was open and ready to do business. This forward-thinking and bold approach will result in the delivery of more than £1 billion of investment to the borough in the next few years.

Despite the world being in a state of flux right now, I think this is a good opportunity to remind ourselves that Chesterfield has not stood still in the months that have passed since lockdown began in March.

Construction of the new Enterprise Centre on the Donut carpark is now underway, it was announced that PEAK is to be the home of UK’s first fully serviced national park gateway, Avant Homes opened the new showhomes at Waterside Quarter, and thousands of children across the borough have been home schooled.

Did you hear the collective sigh of relief of parents across the country when the children returned to school in September? I don’t know about you, but I feel that the country can truly get back to business now that the schools have re-opened.

And as it did 10 years ago, Chesterfield Borough Council has put in place a plan to ensure that the town thrives once more. We have done it before and the people of Chesterfield can ensure that we  will do it again – I for one have every confidence that the plan can be delivered.